Homemade Cough Drops

You’ve probably seen recipes on Pinterest for homemade cough drops before, but never really paid any attention to them. Or you’ve pinned them only to forget about them when you’re sick.

Well, this week I remembered I had those recipes for homemade cough drops.

Ok, maybe “remember” isn’t the right word. Some might call it laziness.

But not because I was lazy.

More like I’ve been sick with this nasty sinus infection and I didn’t feel like dragging my behind to the store to go buy more cough drops.

So, I decided to make my own cough drops. At home. In the comfort of my pj’s without anybody staring at me.

And saving myself from becoming one of those photos of Wal-Mart shopper Don’ts.

Oh, you know those photos that I speak of. People shopping in Wal-Mart with their pajamas and slippers on, like getting dressed is too big of a deal that day.

Although I can’t really speak since I always throw on sweats before going to Wal-Mart because I want to be comfortable when I shop.

At least I’m not in my pajamas and slippers!

Now I made two different batches of these cough drops. I made a soft, taffy-like batch and then I made the hard candy-type batch.

I love how they both turned out, but I must say, I prefer the soft cough drops.

Mainly because when I have coughing fits, I usually cough out, choke on, or swallow the hard cough drops.

With the softer cough drops, they kind of stick to the roof of your mouth so when you go into a coughing fit, they don’t go anywhere. They stay in your mouth.

No more coughing up cough drops on your family, yourself, or the family pet.

I came up with the softer batch because I could not get the mixture hot enough when I first made these and took it off the stove top when it reached 260 degrees (Hard Ball) instead of the 300 degrees (Hard Crack) as directed.

Or maybe it was because I was tired, didn’t feel good, and wanted to get off my feet.

Luckily for me, it worked out because I love these soft taffy-like cough drops!

Shaping the soft drops was easy. However, you should keep them on a cookie sheet for storage in your refrigerator. Otherwise, they will form together and your left with one big giant cough drop. Yes, even in the refrigerator!

Then I thought I would try it again and see if I could get the hard candy-like cough drops you buy in the stores.

It takes a lot of patience (especially when you’re sick) and a medium to low heat instead of a simmer to get the temperature to 300.

It took me about 60 minutes to get the temperature to 300 degrees.

Then after you let it cool, you’ve got to work fast because this stuff hardens quick.

I used kitchen shears to cut through some of it because I could no longer shape it with my fingers.

Let me know which one you like better, the soft, taffy-like cough drop or the hard candy-like cough drop by leaving a comment below.

Please read all directions and recipe notes before making these cough drops. While making things in the kitchen is fun, always use extreme care because we are using heat.

As always, if you do make these Homemade Cough Drops, leave me a comment below, or share it with me by tagging your Instagram with #sweetandspicymonkey, so I can see all the goodness you create in your kitchen. Happy Eating!

Homemade Cough Drops are easy to make and with only 4 ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen - honey, coconut oil, an orange, and cinnamon. Directions for making both a soft, taffy texture and a hard candy-like texture are given. These cough drops are drug-free, preservative-free and dye-free.

Ingredients

1 cup honey

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

juice from 1/2 small orange

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon of powdered sugar or corn starch

Tools Needed:

small sauce pan

wooden spoon

candy thermometer

Instructions

Prepare cookie sheet by wiping generously with coconut oil or line with parchment paper, letting paper overhang edges of sheet. Set aside.

Add all ingredients into a small sauce pan over medium heat.

Bring to a boil, stirring continuously so mixture doesn't burn. Once boiling, lower temperature between medium and low, with it being closer to the medium. I wish I could tell you the exact temperature, but I just kept it between the two temperatures, lowering when it got too hot and turning up when it wasn't heating up enough.

Continue to stir mixture until it reaches 260 degrees (Hard Ball) for the soft cough drops or 300 degrees (Hard Crack) for the hard-candy cough drops.

Once temperature desired is reached. remove pan off stove top and pour mixture over prepared cookie sheet.

Let cool until you can work it with your fingers without burning yourself, about 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is bendable. For the soft cough drops, you can place cookie sheet in refrigerator for 15 minutes to help it cool down.

Once it has cooled, work mixture into round or oval shapes using your hands. Place onto cookie sheet, leaving about 1/2" apart. Place back into refrigerator to set.

Roll drops in powdered sugar or corn starch to help keep them from sticking to one another.

Store soft cough drops in refrigerator on a cookie sheet or plate.

Store hard candy-like cough drops in an airtight container.

Can be stored for 3 weeks.

Notes

- As with anything in the kitchen, use extreme caution when making these if you have children in the home. The temperature is extremely hot and if the mixture spills, it will cause burns on the skin. Please make with extreme care.

- With that being said, no matter how tempting it looks, please DO NOT lick the spoon while making these cough drops. The mixture is extremely hot and will burn you tongue and mouth. I'm speaking from experience so please, please, please trust me on this!

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